On April 3rd 1978 I was in Florida with my then girlfriend. We had intended to stay the night with a relative who turned out to be so anti gay & homophobic we had to leave & find a hotel. Two things happened that night that forever changed my life. First was when I turned on the TV in the hotel/motel room & caught “Cher... Special” that aired on ABC. This was one of the most groundbreaking & brilliant TV shows ever, about thirty years ahead of its time. Especially one skit where Cher performs "West Side Story" & portrays all the characters, both male & female beautifully edited together. I was totally blown away that this fabulous drag masterpiece was airing on primetime network TV. (See 12:44 Video Below) The second thing that happened was we went to see the movie "Network". I had worked in the television industry in Boston at WCVB the ABC affiliate but left when they changed their commitment to original programing. After seeing what Cher had accomplished on her TV special & watching the movie version of Paddy Chayefsky’s "Network" predicting the future of TV, I decided it was time to return mainstream television. Within six months I was working for network TV in New York where I won by Emmy award. But the magic of my Cher story continued. In 1985 at a party for the MTV awards I got to meet Cher in the Mike Todd VIP Room of the Palladium in NYC & tell her how brilliant her "West Side Story" was. She was so appreciative & I must say the most genuine celebrity I have ever encountered.
Happy Birthday Cher & thank you for changing my life.
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